This week, I get the honor of baptizing three of my junior high students. Being around the idea of Baptism for the last few weeks really got me thinking about the importance and significance of baptism in our faith. Baptism is, essentially, an outward expression of our inward decision to follow Christ and live the rest of our lives honoring God. The idea of baptism is not just a one time isolated event but it is a symbol that helps change the way you live. One of my students asked me a question in regards to him getting baptized and said this, “If I get baptized, does that mean my whole life has to change?” The honesty of this question kind of took me back a little. I had no other way to respond than a simple (yet not so simple), yes. I had to explain that getting baptized means that you are showing the world that you are a follower of Christ, and showing Christ that you want to be like Him in every aspect of your life, not just going to church or being in a small group. Baptism is a devoted dedication to live the way God calls us so that we can be in closer relationship to Him.
Brad Brittain
Element Team
There’s a blog that I love to follow, and recently one of the posts really struck me in a different way than the writer intended. Although I got the message she was sending with her blog, some things about the story she shared really resonated with me as a parent trying to raise my children to make wise choices.
The writer was attending a half-marathon that both her husband and son were competing in. She was seated in the stands at the finish line while her young daughter was off to the side dancing on top of a rock that stood about 6 inches off the ground…nothing too dangerous, right? At any other time, this would have been a sweet picture, but growing next to this rock was a Saguaro cactus with spines that can grow up to 2 inches. She warned her daughter not to touch the cactus, but somewhere in-between watching her husband and son compete in the race and checking on her daughter, her daughter ended up by her side with a hand full of spines from the cactus. She asked her daughter why she had touched the cactus after being warned not to, and the daughter’s response was, “I didn’t touch the cactus, I was just dancing.”
The writer’s intent with her blog was to communicate how we tend to “dance around” sin in our own lives and that when we do that, we too, can get stuck just like her daughter did with the cactus. But then as I read and re-read the blog, another picture began to emerge in my mind. As parents, we want to protect our kids. We do our best to make sure they are safe. We teach them the difference between right and wrong. We want them to make wise choices, but then sometimes we get distracted by life and before we know it, our kids are standing next to us with hands full of spines. When, not if, that happens, don’t get discouraged. Instead, take their hands, pull out the spines and then point them back in the right direction.
Some of my favorite scriptures to read are found in Deuteronomy, chapter 11. As parents, the following verses encourage us to “commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to you children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.” In short, DANCE…just not around any cactuses.
Laura Murphy
Central Kidz
The spring is a funny time of year. It is a time of new growth, changing seasons, WIND, and baseball of course. But the spring can also be a season of tiredness. After almost an entire year of school and school activities . . . the summer seems so close but still so far! I also remember from being in high school that this time of year gets very busy for high school students. There are a lot of events that come up in these next few months. There are sports games, musicals, concerts, plays, tests, college applications, graduations, and the list goes on.
As I get ready to have a new little baby (due end of May!!!), I think about these things. I don’t know if it’s because I work with high school students, but I always think about when my son is in high school, and what he is going to be in to. I then think about everything that I did when I was in high school and how important it was to me that my parents came to as many of those activities as they possibly could. In fact, it’s hard for me to remember a single sports game or concert they ever missed. I know that my parents were probably tired and ready for summer and ready for a break, but they always made me a priority. I know how I feel right now, ready for a break! I only hope that I can hold the same priorities that my parents did.
With all that is going on in our world, country, work places, and schools, it is our responsibility to prioritize our own personal worlds. Yes there are many things that could take the place of a baseball game, or an end of the year concert, but remember that these are some of the moments when you and I have the chance to not just say, but SHOW how much we love our kids.
Intentionally take time this week to SHOW your child how much you love them.
Josh Bollen
High School Worship Leader
As I child, I always gave the answer “I don’t know” to my mother. She would become infuriated with that response and often my punishment was increased because of that answer. I never understood her frustration. Now that I am a mother with a 13 year old (14 in 3 months) receiving the “I don’t know” answer is simply – well, infuriating. How can you NOT know where your backpack is 2 minutes after you walk in the door? How can you NOT remember to put on clean socks when there is a pile of clean ones on your bed? It just makes me shake my head….
Then one day I had a simple conversation with my teenager about something broken on his door. (He couldn’t shut it..) He described the broken item as “the gold thing that hits the wall when it moves”. Obviously I was perplexed and after about a good 5 minutes of him describing what he was talking about I asked, “Do you mean the DOORKNOB?!” He looked at me with this sigh of relief… “Yes!,” he exclaims, “the doorknob!” I looked at him… and he replies, “I had all the words.. I just couldn’t put them together…”
A pretty simple conversation and I realize that sometimes my teen just really doesn’t know why he does certain things – there is so much stuff going on during this time – physically, mentally. Teens have higher school demands that begin in junior high, peer pressure that starts long before that and sometimes – they just don’t have the words to put together. It’s a lot to take – especially when your brain and body are all working in some caddy-whompus way.
These changes, challenges and growth spurts they go through aren’t an excuse for bad behavior but i’m learning to shake my head less when he comes in and can’t find his hat (when it’s on his head).
Parenting my teen is a daily learning experience for me…. What has parenting your teenager taught you?
Melissa Millwee – Preschool Ministry
Being a parent of two college students, from my perspective, has matured over the years commensurate with the age of our sons. This week we are blessed to have them both around the house quite a bit during spring break. Matt is 23 and attends UNLV, he is graduating this spring with his MBA, he moved out on his own just about a month ago. Nate is 21 and attends Azusa Pacific University in southern California, he is graduating this spring with his undergraduate degree in Accounting.
Last night the three of us spent some quality time together in the Jacuzzi after seeing Fast and Furious at Green Valley Ranch. We planned to go to the movies the previous day while we were watching the NCAA basketball championship game together with some of their friends. Tonight I have plans with each of them to work on their tax returns, which of course are due next week. Brenda (my wife and their mother) is cooking dinner every night this week for the four of us. Tonight over dinner we are planning to share the significance and events of each day of Holy Week lead up to Easter this Sunday.
Why the details, just to give examples of how intentional we are about spending time together. As our sons aged we realized that if we weren’t intentional about spending time together with each of them that it just was not going to happen. We plan dinners, we plan going to church together, we plan golf, we plan, plan, plan! Some of our friends think that we are a bit nuts because of our obsessive planning. However, it is all very intentional. We are so very blessed that they still include us in their plans and we pray that never changes. Proverbs 14:22 reads “those who plan what is good show love and faithfulness.”
Geoff Sage,
Chief Financial Officer – Central Christian Church
My household currently revolves around milestones; three little boys (yes, 3 boys) will do that to you. So, just to give you a quick update; my oldest has mastered 7-12 year old Legos (he’s 6), my middle child learned to print…legibly (he’s 4) and my youngest has started to roll over and eat solids (he’s 5 months). Yep, we are milestone crazy in our home.
It got me thinking that families relate to this word and use it on a regular basis. Stop and think for a minute. What was the last milestone that your child hit and you praised them for? Now, think about the last spiritual milestone your child hit and you praised them for. This question can make some parents (myself included) pause for a second longer than the first question.
What was the last spiritual milestone? Maybe they memorized their bible verse that week, invited a friend from school to “their” church, got baptized. As parents, we always want our kids taking that next step. Praise your kids often for where they have come, but also encourage them in where they are going.
Andrea Kessler
Preschool Ministry
When I was a young boy my mother always told me how impatient I was. No matter the situation I always wanted things to happen at the snap of my fingers. Over the years I have learned how to be more patient but it has not been easy. Have any of you ever felt yourselves growing impatient with a friend or family member? I mean think about it, as an outsider with a clear perspective on a situation , you can see the entire picture. Your friend or family member wants your advice and you give it graciously. Then you find yourself having the same conversation time and time again. Your words do not seem to stick anymore and you even question if they ever did. It is not only in your friendships but every relationship you are apart of. Whether father to son, mother to daughter, or husband to wife, at times your patience is almost non existent. You have tried everything and anything but nothing works.
In times like these, I am glad we get to celebrate Easter. How patient is our God!! He waited for centuries to send Jesus to die for our sins but the timing was perfect. We have the privilege to celebrate a rebirth, a new life in Christ. Now we are called to live a life like he did and how difficult that can be. Time and time again we sin yet he carried the weight of those sins to Calgary. This man was born, died, and rose again all for the sake of my sins…of your sins too. Christ knows my mess but is patient with me because that is his nature. That said, why can I not show this same patience to others? How many times have I gone to him with a sin? How many times have I gone to him with the same struggle? How many times have I begged him to listen even though we had gone through this before? In all honestly I can’t count. I forget this too often when my friends need it the most. Can anyone relate?
This week, I encourage you to remember the cross. Remember how much patience Christ has had with you throughout your life. Remember how long it took you to grasp a concept others found so simple. Patience must be apart of our Christian living and our best example is found in Jesus. When you feel like you’re on empty, ask Christ for a refill. That is what he is there for. He listens to our fears, hurts, desires, pain, and struggle with out hesitation. Where would we be had he only given us a few chances? I believe it is only fair we do the same with those we call our friends and family.
Happy Easter!!!!!
Jeff Kiwanuka
Element Team